Thomason kept Tigers focused on game of life

Pacific men's basketball coach Bob Thomason spotted one of his players in the audience.

Bob Highfill

Pacific men's basketball coach Bob Thomason spotted one of his players in the audience.

"Colin, do you need to get to class?"

Tigers forward Colin Beatty stood up immediately and walked out of Spanos Center to good-natured chuckles from the gathering.

"You need to concentrate on the right things," Thomason said.

For nearly 30 years, Thomason has concentrated on the right things at Pacific. That's why more than 100 boosters, students, former and current players, coaches and staff attended a news conference inside the Tigers' home arena, where the 63-year-old announced he would retire following the 2012-13 season, his 25th as head coach at his alma mater, and Pacific's last in the Big West Conference before it joins the West Coast Conference.

The announcement wasn't a surprise, given the program's recent struggles, sagging attendance, and Athletic Director Ted Leland not granting a contract extension to the venerable coach, yet granting extensions for other coaches in recent months.

Thomason, who's entering the final year of his contract, said he never asked for an extension and never wanted one.

"There's never been a disagreement with me and Ted through this whole process," Thomason said. "I'm completely at peace with everything."

Monday's announcement served as a bittersweet sendoff - 10 months prior to it actually happening - for a man who has had a part in 470 wins at Pacific, first as a shooting guard from 1969-71 under the late Dick Edwards and since 1988 as the Tigers' head coach.

"As a basketball player and as a coach, in our lifetime we will never have another person make as solid a contribution to Pacific basketball as Bob Thomason," said Rick Paulsen, a longtime booster, who played basketball at Pacific under coach Stan Morrison from 1978-82.

Thomason has brought many successes to the men's basketball program while upholding the university's academic mission. On Monday, Pacific President Pamela Eibeck said 96 percent of Thomason's players who have exhausted their athletic eligibility have earned their degrees. On the court, Thomason has sent four teams to the NCAA Tournament and twice won in the first round, his teams have earned six Big West Conference regular-season championships, and three conference tournament titles. He has been named Big West Coach of the Year five times.

But beyond the honors and the wins and losses are the men Thomason and his staff have helped mold.

"I took a lot from Coach from when I played here to my everyday life," said Jasko Korajkic, a Swedish import who played forward at Pacific from 2002-05 and now manages a health club in Pleasanton. "It's just amazing when you apply everything he taught us about basketball, about playing hard and practicing hard, and going into real life. It's easier for me than a lot of people who have jobs because we're already used to hard work. Now, I get to lead my own team."

Through the years, Thomason has shown a knack for finding players who weren't exactly blue-chip prospects and making the most out of many of them. Michael Olowokandi had never played high-level organized basketball before he enrolled at Pacific in 1996. In 1998, he was the No. 1 overall NBA draft choice of the Los Angeles Clippers.

David Doubley didn't have a lot of options out of Skyline College in San Bruno. But Thomason gave him a chance, and Doubley helped lead the Tigers to two consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and was named Big West Player of the Year as a senior in 2004-05.

"I'm forever indebted to him," said Doubley, who lives in Oakland and coaches youth basketball and officiates basketball at various levels. "He's one of the people who gave me a chance. I had a few different options, but I felt the most comfortable with him and he stayed with me all my years here."

Leland said a national search will be conducted after the upcoming season and assistant Ron Verlin, who has been with Thomason for 18 years, will be given consideration should he apply for the job.

Thomason said he doesn't know what he will do once he retires. He'll probably play more golf, travel with his wife, Jerri, and spend more time with his parents, Bob and Donna, and his sons, Scott and Jeff, and their families. But even though the future isn't certain, Thomason believes it's time to step aside.

"To be able to coach the Tigers for 25 years will be a true pleasure," Thomason said. "After next season, it will be the perfect time for me to retire from Pacific. We will have a team that can compete for the Big West championship and the team will be even better the following season. It was important for me to leave a good team for the next coaching staff."